Tuesday, December 30, 2008

I discovered the International Farmers Market near my new home. I've driven by it for a couple months now, vowing that I'd go there on the weekend. Well, it has taken a while for that weekend to come. I was excited to see the prices were so much lower than your regular grocery store, and the products didn't look too bad. Sure, they had some poor quality looking produce, including some of their meat selection, but overall it was a nice surprise to see the better quality items having a much lower price.

I bought some boneless beef short ribs. In my grocery they can be as much as $6-$7 a lb. but I got a lb. and a half for only $4!

I pondered how to cook them. I love, love braising. I just enjoy how tender meat becomes using this method, but I wasn't feeling the braising technique this time. I was in the mood for Asian flavors. I suppose in hindsight I could have braised them in Asian flavors, but it didn't occur to me then ; p

I used what I had on hand and made a marinade and let the ribs soak up the flavors overnight.

After marinating, I grilled then boiled the reserved marinade for a sauce and served with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. The flavor was amazing and intense, exactly how I pictured it.

Asian Marinade (for 1 1/2 lbs of beef short ribs)

1/2 cup light soy sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 Tbs. cider vinegar

2 Tbs. oyster sauce

1 1/2 Tbs. sesame oil (I used dark)

2 Tbs. brown sugar

2 shallots chopped

1 large garlic clove minced

1 Tbs. fresh chopped ginger (or 1 tsp. powdered)

2 tsp red pepper flakes

Whisk everything in a medium sized bowl, add meat, making sure to cover with marinade, and let chill for 12-24 hours. (you can also use a large sized ziplock, which I didn't have at the moment)

To cook:

Remove meat from bowl or bag, and set aside. Strain the marinade into another bowl. Heat oven to broil.

Put marinade into a small sauce pan and boil until thickened and reduced by half (if it isn't as thick as you'd like it add a corn starch slurry).

In a large oven safe skillet (I used my cast iron grill pan) lightly oil and put over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, sear meat on both sides, about a minute each side. Transfer to oven and cook another 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Slice thin and serve over rice with steamed veggies, the sauce, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.